Unsavory Angst: A Lethrblaka Case Study
by Anastasia Adagio
Summary: Praised be the sun that sets, for only within darkness may pasts come to light.
1. Autumn's Secret

Leona Lake was a picture of stillness that night, drawn as tight as a drum and trembling with such kinetic potential that it was a shame to leave undisturbed. But the siblings had no time for such antics; even Glint forwent the chase of a passing moth, mindful as she was of Rage Cinder's sheparding shadow.

Guile resisted the urge to turn around as he trudged down the shoreline, hand in hand with his sister. "Did we do something wrong, Father?"

The Lethrblaka was alarmingly silent for several heartbeats, the sound of his deep breaths and pebble churning claws an ominous mantra. When at last he did speak, it was in their species audible tongue—curt and artificial. "Perhaps it is_ I_ who has made a mistake, my pupa."

In the wake of Guile's perplexed silence, Glint stiffened her spine and dared to carry on the conversation. "Are we going hunting then?"

"No."

She eyeballed her brother, who only offered a shrug in response. How was he supposed to know why Cinder had drug them from their nest as soon as the sun had set? Why he'd given his mate such a piercing look as they climbed onto his back? Something was surely afoot, but not even Guile and his telltale namesake could deduce what it was.

A cryptic hush befell the trio as the rocky beach thinned into sand and then dirt. The lake was left behind as their father ushered them into an autumn ravaged copse of maples. Their young boles were numerous but supple, allowing the Ra'zac to dart between them as their larger companion simply bent them aside. When the family could no longer see past the trees no matter which way they turned, the Lethrblaka gave a sharp whistle. Obedient as hunting hounds, the twins froze and turned every bit of their attention toward the colossus in their midst.

Cinder tipped his beak toward the heavens, appraising the stars above and their cold light for several moments. When the celestial sight failed to satisfy, he gave a bone chilling sigh and returned his gaze to his children. "Perception is a funny thing."

Glint was the first to speak, the first to ask and to wonder. "Perception?"

"It's the way you see things," Guile offered quietly. His eyes darted to Cinder, relaxing only when the Lethrblaka nodded in agreement.

"Your hatchmate is correct. For instance . . ." his talons worried the earth, digging mulch and loam up from their moldering layers. At last he paused, lingering over the vestige of a leaf; it blushed with fall's vibrant hues and was torn slightly from the creature's rough rifling. "I perceive this to be red and yellow."

"Well, it's uhh . . . certainly red," Glint said uncertainly. "Although I'm not really sure what yellow is supposed to look like."

Cinder's shoulder twitched as he sought out another example. This leaf was gilded entirely in seasonal gold. "This is yellow; I suppose nobody ever bothered to give you a word for it." he laughed and the Ra'zac flinched.

Their father never laughed.

Only Guile could find the gall to speak—although his words were little more than a hesitant whisper. "Yellow looks quite a bit like red, father. Why is there even a name for two colors that look so similar?"

The Lethrblaka's stare was glassy and distant, bottomless orbs of black. His beak opened, closed, and then opened again. "That's because they are not the same color. But that's alright, my pupae. You two just perceive the world differently than others."

"Why is that?" Glint was genuinely confused, her temper beginning to flare. "Why are we different? I don't want to _perceive_ things differently!"

Her brother's attempt at consolation was cut short as Cinder leaned in to hold his daughter. She froze, she clammed up, she stopped breathing. Never in her entire life had anyone but Guile drawn her close or murmured assurances into her ears. Soon she found her hatchmate by her side, heart hammering, mouth slightly ajar as great wings wrapped around the two of them. Like hooded hawks, they fell silent and abandoned all movement as Cinder uttered the single sob they would ever hear him indulge in.

Then, like a memory, the moment faded and they were back on the ground. Their father gave them a dazed glance, and without prompt, the twins leaped onto his back and settled down for the flight back home.

The journey itself was smooth and silent, Cinder using the night's dead air to show off the impressive stamina of an adult Lethrblaka. Between rapid wing beats, Glint and Guile could hear the faint sound of a peculiar song. With the flesh beneath their bodies humming in tandem with the tune, there was no doubt that their father was its source. But rather than questioning the beast below, the Ra'zac simply huddled together and enjoyed the soothing melody until Helgrind loomed in the distance.

The tower's false wall gave way to abrupt darkness as they glided into the grotto, Cinder's landing graceful as always. As soon as he touched the ground, the Ra'zac slipped off of his shoulders and disappeared into the cavern's gloom.

The pitter patter of their retreating footsteps masked Mirror's approach until her lean neck slipped over his own. _"How is their sight? Is it normal?"_ desperate and defeated, these were not the thoughts of the creature she had been a few hours ago—a few hours ago when Guile asked why all the trees had turned red.

_"No . . . no it isn't." _

She reeled, she hissed and she spat. The walls of Helgrind knew her fury, felt her roars reverberate down into its very core. But like a candle in the rain, she could only rage so long before her fire was put out. Shaking and grimacing, she paced in a circle, whipped her tail, and then abruptly sat. Hunching her shoulders like the Ra'zac she had been so long ago, Mirror chittered to herself until Cinder dared to sit by her side.

_"Tritanopia,"_ she growled mentally. _"What an ugly word."_

_"I know."_

_"Our kind gets it from incest."_

_"I know."_

She flopped onto the ground, frowning as a sonorous echo reverberated throughout the entryway. _"What do remember about your Mother?"_

Joining her in laying down, Cinder thought a moment and then picked absently at her crest. _"She was beautiful and fearsome, much like you."_

_"What else?"_

_"Well, she loved Human music,"_ he mused softly. _"I think it used to drive father crazy, the way she'd play with her food—make them sing themselves hoarse, make them play away on their lyres and flutes until they bled. Nobody could tell her what to do though, and she'd keep bringing them home no matter the danger." _

His mate took a breath, slow and deep. _"Was your mother's name Eternal Avarice?"_

_"Star Mirror . . ."_

_"WAS IT?"_

_"You know it was." _

Cinder didn't hesitate, didn't fumble or stutter those hateful words. His mate appreciated that, she really did, but it didn't make the confession any easier to accept. A hush as thick as raw cotton reeled out between them; when her words came they were muffled and syrupy, even within the icy purity of his mind.

_"When I was still a pupa, I had two hatchmates. Both were as calm and cool as a fucking cucumber, like all males are. They kept me out of trouble, kept me away from a father who hated my guts and a mother that wanted to eat them. I loved them a lot, and I think my parents did too, but they never really showed it."_

_"That's how things were back then, before the War,"_ Cinder whispered._ "Before every pupa born became rare, precious, coveted. Before pupae like Guile and Glint . . ."_

_"I remember their faces when we found my eldest sibling blackened past ebony one spring night. He'd been cooked alive in his own carapace, like bread in a pan. Mother was livid, which made her stupid. I never knew how much she cared about her precious pupa until she left that same hour to track down the Dragon responsible."_

_"She never came back."_

_"No, she didn't," _Mirror agreed, idly pushing a pebble across the floor. _"Father grieved as he watched over what remained of our brood, but when every night began to ring with the shouts of men and elves high in the sky, he made a choice that I didn't expect." _

_"Mir-"_

_"He took my sibling, wailing and kicking in his claws, and fled to the East. He flew as the sun rose, knowing that the riders wouldn't expect many Lethrblaka to make such a hazardous move. I heard his thoughts as they dwindled in the distance—full of pain, animalistic, disappearing along with his sight."_

Her tail traced Cinder's cheekbone, just below the right eye that was ever so slightly hazy. _"I cried so hard and so long that not even the roars of Dragons could reach my ears. The headache of sorrow, of utter despair pounded the names of my family out of my head. When hunger drove me into the Human villages, I went as a vessel empty of memory, thought, and sustenance. They thought me a monster of myth, until the stolen children turned into adults, and the change gave me a mighty form none would dare to challenge."_

_"I found a young female, newly shifted one evening. It was the sound of sobs and screams, the smell of blood and piss, the sight of fire and steel that drew me in. I expected to find the sacking of a town, but what I saw was a Lethrblaka drenched in crimson, a string of bodies dangling from her jaws." _The gaps were filling inside of Cinder's head, blank patches that had been full of nothing but questions suddenly rewritten in full color. "_Ever since my father had died a week or two before my own transformation, I'd not seen another of our kind. Even so, I remember being afraid to approach what could have been the last member of my species."_

_"When I saw that grey figure in the distance, when I met it at full tilt in the sky, it never occurred to me that they'd be anything but another genocidal survivor; maybe some far flung comrade from across Alagasia come to remedy my solitude. We danced and we killed and we sang until the tears that came were no longer bitter and sleep brought rest rather than endless dreams of fire. When my stomach became heavy with pupae I was nothing short of elated, when Galbatorix granted us a future I held my peace, but never did I think that my mate would be my brother; somehow he had survived and taken on a new name, only to find his way back to me." _Her thoughts were stormy and indistinct. _"How was I supposed to know? Your smell was as different as your body, my memories had been drained away . . . and I was lonely, I was so lonely."_

_"Glint and Guile are sound children,"_ Cinder reasoned. _"Their sight may be strange, but their minds are sharp and their bodies strong. We've done nothing but excel, Star Mirror, and you need to know that I don't regret a single moment of my life but for letting father take me away from you in the first place."_

Mirror rose and began to pace, her gait drunken with distress. _"But what will they do, my mate? What will they do? All of the land seeks to draw a noose around our necks, but still they grow and thrive. What will happen when they leave the ground behind and stand on equal ground with us? When there are no other Lethrblaka to come sing to them and take them far away from each other? I see it in the King's eyes, the way he thinks us to be nothing more than beasts. When the time comes, he will seek to exploit their love for one another and use it against them." _

_"If they are truly bonded, then they will do what they must to survive. Any Ra'zac to come from their union may suffer for their actions and ours, but in the end, it's always about keeping your own head above water." _He scowled into the darkness, a lifetime of poor decisions bearing down upon his body and soul.

_"Should they even be told?"_

_"Perhaps one day, but not now. They are yet young, and I wouldn't burden their minds with such poisonous knowledge until they're old enough handle it."_

_"The world is tragic, Cinder."_

_"Only if you perceive it to be."_

In the distance, the twins huddled together within their nest. Glint's brow was still furrowed in thought over their father's baffling behavior, and her brother wasn't faring any better.

"Well that was weird," she whispered, fearful of parental eavesdropping. "What do you think he was trying to do?"

"I haven't the faintest idea. To be honest, I'm still trying wrap my brain around the color yellow."


	2. Heathens' Cradle

(Hello there! The following story is part one of Star Mirror and Rage Cinder's childhood. In my personal cannon, Ra'zac change their names once they metamorphosis into a Lethrblaka, which is why the following characters have different ones than you may be used to. For a quick and comprehensive guide: Eternal Avarice=Their Mother, Astral Ataraxia=Their Father, Exigent Maven=Their Brother, Jingo Cipher=Star Mirror, and Errant Halcyon=Rage Cinders. As always, reading my past work will help to make all of this more comprehensive, but that's just a suggestion on my behalf; I hope you enjoy this chapter, and feel free to PM me with any questions, comments, or concerns you may have!)

* * *

"Do you think his eyes can get any larger?"

"Or starrier?"

"Maybe they'll turn into little suns and drift off."

"So he can scorch us for our botherations?"

"Naturally."

The Ra'zac leaned against her brother, grinning as they peered above the edge of an ornately carved pew. They'd been spying for some time upon her third sibling, seated prim and proper alongside a ghostly Lethrblaka; high midnight meant lessons for him in the Parish's apse—technically, it meant lessons for all of them, but only Exigent Maven ever practiced attendance.

Even now their father raised his papery voice, as if an undercurrent of authority could drag his hidden pupils down into an educative riptide. "Define 'The Spine.'"

"The Spine: An Alagaesian mountain range situated along the continent's western coast." Maven's words tumbled faultlessly, polished to an exotic edge by the Humanspeak he'd just recently learned. Indeed, the trio's mother had stopped him aught but a fortnight ago, praising him offhandedly for mastering a Prey Tongue—Jingo Cipher and Errant Halcyon were not given the same approval. While Eternal Avarice's other son could easily learn the language, his sister dragged both of them down in their bilingual studies; to Avarice, this was simply another reason to despise her daughter.

"And what does the Spine mean to our race?"

"Sanctuary, father."

"Elaborate upon that."

The Ra'zac chewed a knuckle—his one and only habit. "Well, following the Migration, a good deal of our kind settled here. Over the years, we've separated into two social classes: Alpdwellers and Burgdwellers. The former live within the Spine's landscape, actively hunting Humans from the Outskirts; the latter occupy the mountains themselves, residing within the Scentless Burg. Few places in Alagaesia can boast the Spine's ecological advantages—varying in regards to Alpside and Burgside, of course. Therefore . . . sanctuary."

Cipher pretended to gag—she and Hal had heard this lecture before; it was one of the few things about their race she didn't care to be taught. Astral Ataraxia's teachings had eaten her interest up like a moth on cloth, riddling the tapestry of her curiosity with holes of boredom. She wanted to hear about the battles they'd had with Dragons, the wars waged with Humans upon the Lost Land, not some drivel of how they'd discovered a cozy place to live. With this in mind, Cipher made to drag out her charade of disgust, but paused as Halcyon grabbed her by the shoulder; he gestured vaguely to the pair ahead. Were they going to talk about the Scentless? Suddenly, she wasn't so uninterested.

"What social class would you place our brood within, Exigent Maven?"

It was redundant questions such as these that grated upon Cipher's nerves; her brother, however, answered with a scholar's zeal. "We're Burgdwellers."

"You sound so sure of yourself, my son. Why don't you bolster your claim?"

"Our brood resides within the Parish, a theological establishment within the Scentless Burg. Being that we lay claim to a piece of the city and eat from its Catacomb, we're afforded the title of Burgdweller."

"Eloquently worded, but lacking in refinement." Ataraxia all but struck Maven with the quick appraisal, and the Ra'zac visibly blanched. "Burgdweller, Burgdweller, Burgdweller . . . you sling the phrase about, but what does it mean? This Burg of your rebuttals remains esoterically worded, and so you suffer for it. Why don't you tell me about it instead, Jingo Cipher?" His pupa froze behind the bench's masonry, eyeing Halcyon with something close to panic. The two of them had stalked their father's lessons before, and he'd never noticed—or had he? "You'll answer me now, or more than a cat shall hold your tongue."

Hal stood first, dragging Cipher up after him like a limp suit of armor; she hung from his grip as if it were the gallows. "We didn't want to interrupt Maven's lesson, father," he lied quickly, smoothly. Her brother had words that ran like syrup—they were almost always sweet enough to indulge in.

Ataraxia wasn't so inclined. "I don't remember addressing you, Errant Halcyon."

"You might as well have; we all know that I'm Cipher's keeper."

At that, his sibling's body went rigid; she tore herself free of him with an indignant jerk. "I don't need your help," she hissed, shrugging off his martyred gaze. "What'll you have of me, father?"

"As I've said: shed light upon the Scentless Burg, and succeed where Exigent Maven has failed." The Ra'zac at his side looked away, stung by the appearance of his twin and sister. How had he missed their presence? The disgrace was almost too much to bear.

Cipher paid his silent theatrics no mind, saving her wry gaze for Ataraxia. He wanted a history lesson on the Scentless? Fine; that's exactly what she'd give him. "In the ages before the Lethrblakan colonization of Alagaesia, there dwelt a Human race within the Spine. Their empire reigned here for many ages, and the passing seasons saw them carve megalithic cities into the mountains themselves. However, by dint of some disaster, their society lapsed into death; today, only their architecture and mummified dead remain." She paused for effect, licking the razor's edge of her mawline. "Our race, cunning and conservative, took little time in discovering their lost legacy. Exploration yielded a city devoid of smell, but brimming with centuries upon centuries of Human bodies; so it was that we named it the Scentless Burg, and waged bloody battles amongst ourselves for right of ownership. Presently, Lethrblaka and their Ra'zac occupy a host of archives, feast halls, butcheries, slaughterhouses, courts, crypts, and churches—all of which are beautifully rendered and hidden away from the sun. We've subsequently raised entire generations here, nurturing pupae on a diet of mummified remains. Dining on the flesh of long dead kings has its effects though, and Burgdwellers have since become famous for the increasingly pale bloodlines this practice produces. This may be prevented by supplementing a pupa's regime with freshly killed Humans, but only those who wish to contend with our viciously territorial cousins, the Alpdwellers, kill thusly. Due to the scholastic resources afforded by the city, our nigh infinite source of food, isolationist ideals, and distinctive heritage, Burgdwellers have come to be regarded as a sort of nobility amongst the Lethrblakan population; conversely, it's quite likely that few beyond the spine even know of our existence. In a way, I guess we've become the new Scentless, which makes our role in their chronicle imperative to some degree."

Ataraxia was lying with his weight against a long-unused alter, the gilded corners of its top digging into his pallid side. Sighing, he sat up straighter, rubbing his brow and mumbling a few things to himself. "Congratulations," he spoke up. "You're both my brightest and laziest child; would I could, I'd delegate your memory to Exigent Maven and be done with the matter." Cipher held her peace—she was accustomed to such scathing comments. "Attend my lectures more often, and perhaps I'll develop a liking for you."

"Well now, we can't have that." A parent enjoying her company? How laughable.

"Indeed . . ."

As silence fell upon the assembly, Ataraxia made to leave the altar—a skeletal behemoth of rustling wings and ashen flesh. The apse suited him with its sweeping stonework and faded murals of forgotten gods; distantly, Cipher recalled that he was a Descending Lord of Bibliography. He'd been raised himself in a dusty library, and now he raised his own children in a dusty church—ironic.

"Before I go," he mused, turning to look upon each of them in turn. "Exigent Maven, I expect you to practice your Humanspeak in the wee hours; we'll be making a visit to Therinsford before too long, and I'll not have you embarrass yourself in front of the Humans. Errant Halcyon, if I catch you bringing any more bugs into your nest, you'll be sleeping with them, and Jingo Cipher . . . I'll speak with you later."

Maven uttered a horrified wheeze and began to cough, Hal shrugged nonchalantly, and Cipher fought the urge to spit in Ataraxia's direction.

"Ah yes, your mother also wishes to see you all; she's waiting in the eastern chapel." With that, the Lethrblaka crawled down the apse's stairs in one fluid motion and leapt over what pews remained. Landing lightly, he flicked his tail like a barn cat and disappeared down the adjacent hall.

When the tapping of his claws faded, Halcyon immediately rushed to the side of his sputtering twin. "There there, you'll do fine! Your Humanspeak is immaculate," he consoled, rubbing Maven's back soothingly. "Just breathe, damn it!"

Meanwhile, their sister frowned at the cracked marble floor. Its black depths held shining flecks that would have been fascinating under any other circumstances, but right now, she was lost in thought. "What the hell does _she_ want?"


	3. That Which Lingers

When the trio exited the apse, it was with Exigent Maven strung between his twin and younger sister.

"For Scentless' sake, you should be over this by now," she grumbled, flexing her shoulders so that the crook of his arm slid back onto her neck. "You're fifteen years old, Maven; that's a hundred and eighty moons! When will you stop having panic attacks every time you think about the Outskirts?"

"You know, spewing numbers at me won't change a thing," he groaned, stumbling on between them.

They stepped into the exedra's left hallway, a narrow channel black as pitch and gouged with ornate alcoves down its length; little statues resided within the dark recesses, their features worn away by time and neglect. Cipher always made faces as they passed them by, put off by the saucers of candles in their outstretched arms. Although unlit, brittle, and insect-eaten, they still smelled very strongly of flowers and herbs the Ra'zac couldn't quite name. With any luck, they'd never taste a lick of flame again.

"In any case, you'd better pull yourself together before we get to the east chapel," Halcyon warned quietly. "You know mother doesn't like to see you stumbling around like this."

"I suppose you're right; you two might as well let go of me so I can find my legs again."

Maven's siblings slowed to a stop, allowing him to pull away from their supporting grip. He wobbled for a moment, bracing himself against the passage's claustrophobic walls. "Good . . . good; just give me a moment and I-" a dull crunch bit off the end of his sentence and turned it into a muffled oath.

"What'd you do, break one of those figures?" Cipher asked, hearing the pitter patter of flaking stone.

"That's exactly what I did."

"Check yourself for wax," Halcyon snickered, wrapping a hand around his beak. "You smell like a meadow's vomited its springtime crop all over you."

Maven cursed again, wringing his hands in an attempt to scrape off the fragrance; however, his efforts only made the smell more pronounced. "That's it; I give up!" he hissed, setting off at an unsteady march down the hallway. His companions followed, nudging each other, giggling, and trying to breathe out of their mouths.

By the time their congregation had found its way down to the chapel, all three smelled like a compost heap of flowers. Cipher leaned against the fluted doorway, peering into the softly illuminated room beyond; Eternal Avarice lay just within, her sinewy body spilling amongst a mound of pillows like swaths of wet ink. Phantasmal clouds of feathers swirled about her every move—stuffing torn from the cushions unable to withstand her rough touch. She was idly turning the pages of a book, but her murky gaze lingered upon its pages only sparingly; the bulk of her attention she devoted to the entryway where her pupae huddled.

"My darlings, I've smelt you for many leaps and bounds; do come out." Avarice's voice matched her physique—nearly liquid.

One by one, the Ra'zac shuffled into the cavernous chantry. Their mother was upon the high dais ahead, a collection of stained glass windows arching up behind her. Long ago, they must have peered into the outside world, but the Spine had since grown its roots over their colored panorama. The light drifting through them now was soft and bloody with twilight, cast in watery shades of blue, teal, purple, and green.

"Am I striking you dumb, or is it the lighting?" she mused, turning another page. "I can draw the draperies, if you wish. The mice have eaten them through, but they'll yet serve their purpose."

"It's alright, mother."

"Yes, as Halcyon's said; no need to trouble yourself."

"Actually, that would be ni-"

The twins worked in mysterious ways, and this time, their magic trick of coordination was to simultaneously ram their elbows into Cipher's gut. She was young and her carapace strong, but the double blow still knocked a fair bit of wind from her lungs; she fell silent almost immediately.

"Ah, my boys; look how well you handle your sister!" she snapped her book shut, the explosive sound of its collapsing pages like a peal of thunder; her smile was equal parts playful and predatory.

"We do our best, mother."

Although in synch, Hal's voice dragged below Maven's. It was no joy for him to mistreat his sister—especially when it pleased Avarice. Cipher just had the unfortunate habit of being difficult when she shouldn't; a jab to the stomach was far better than a beating by their mother, but that didn't make him feel any better about hitting her. The tilt of her shoulders indicated brooding rather than anger though, so he tried not to dwell upon it all too much—for as much her sake as his.

The Lethrblaka placed her tome atop a stag-patterned pillow, the movement breaking up Halcyon's reverie. "Now then, did Ataraxia spoil the subject of this little chat?"

"No, he didn't."

"Wonderful! I was hoping I could tell you all myself."

Cipher came back to life and peered between the twin-sandwich ahead of her. "Tell us what?"

Not even her daughter's interjection could put the light out of Avarice's eyes. She even dared to grin at the Ra'zac, sinking her claws into the upholstery beneath her. "Temerity's visiting tonight!"

"Aunt Elysian Temerity?"

"The one and only! She'll be here come sunset; I wanted you three to be prepared for her arrival."

The siblings took turns tugging at each other, delight written into every line of their dark faces. Temerity was Avarice's older sister and a family favorite; she visited their brood from time to time—despite being a pure blooded Alpdweller.

"Mother, can we go clean up?" Cipher asked excitedly, forgetting her bad manners. The last thing she wanted to be was unkempt for her Aunt.

"You may, but be quick about it; the sun sinks faster than you know."

The Ra'zac all bowed hastily and sprinted off toward the exit, holding each other's hands like a daisy-chain of nightshade. Avarice could hear the trio's childish babble for many twists and turns, until the clatter of their conversation was lost amidst the Parish's winding hallways. She stared after them for a few moments, focusing on the dusty footprints they'd left behind on her polished floor.

"My little heathens," she sighed at last, returning to her book. "I can still smell that candle wax . . ."


	4. Spitfire

"Maven, you're getting it in my eyes!"

The Ra'zac scowled, wiping droplets away from his sister's cheek. "Maybe if you quit your fidgeting, the water would go where it's supposed to."

"Oh, let her alone; if she gets to be too much trouble, we can always push her into the deep end."

"Agreed."

"That's not funny, you guys," Cipher growled, hugging herself in the calf-deep water. "I'd probably drown."

Halcyon dangled his arms over the basin's beveled sides, kicking out at her with a foot. "Liar! You wouldn't be up to your neck even if you sat down. Now I know you're clumsy, but it would take some serious inelegance to die like that."

Cipher tried her best to come up with a good quip, but in the end, she could only laugh at her brother's wit; it was hard to stay mad at the twins for long. Maven had even carried her down the Parish's cascade of steps—every time they wanted to clean up, they had to traverse over a thousand of them to get to the basement's baptismal chamber.

"It's been a while since Auntie's visited," Hal said, spitting a stream of water at his sibling's head.

Maven ducked too slowly, and the jet struck him in the neck. He stuck his barbed tongue out at the other Ra'zac and dumped an urn of water over his shoulders. "A year or so, by my mark. I wonder if she's brought us anything?"

"Well, we won't find out if we don't hurry up!"

"She's right; I wouldn't be surprised if the sun's down by now."

From then on, they focused more on polishing up their carapaces than roughhousing. In a few minutes, Cipher was crawling out of the pool with her brothers close behind. Halcyon grabbed her ankle before she could take off up the stairs, making her sit while Maven fetched a bolt of cotton from the room's only font.

"You'll drip water all over," he admonished, rubbing the worst of it from her body. Cipher's chest puffed up like an angry hatchling's, but she made no move to flee as he patted her dry.

Once they'd taken care of their sister, the twins used the cloth themselves and tossed it back into the fountain. Thereafter, it took them another ten minutes or so to mount the stairway, after which they nearly stumbled over Ataraxia's talons upon reaching its foyer.

"Father!" Cipher gasped, falling to the floor. The Lethrblaka moved as well as any ghost; truthfully, she knew that they'd never get used to his phantasmal comings and goings.

"Ah, you three . . ." Ataraxia always sounded as if he was surprised by his children's presence in the Parish. "Have you been splashing about? You look clean—for once."

His daughter climbed to her feet, more miffed now than startled. She brushed dust from her side; already, her shell was less glossy than before. "Aunti-I mean, Aunt Temerity's going to be here soon. We wanted to look nice."

"Ah, how wonderful that you make an effort to be presentable for your extended family," he lauded dryly. "It's not as if _I_ wish to see my pupae sanitary."

The twins gave each other a fearful look before gripping their sister's shoulders—another moment, and she'd probably say something they'd all regret.

"Yes, well, we really must be going!"

"Time constraints and whatnot."

"Mother's expecting us, you know."

"We really mustn't keep her waiting."

Before Ataraxia or Cipher could speak another word, the brothers lifted their sibling up and sprinted off with her between them. The trio hadn't even made it halfway before she tore herself free of their grasp.

Wheeling away from her brothers, Cipher swiped at Maven's face, nearly taking out an eye. "Bastards! Bastards, the lot of you! Why do you always interfere?" her breathing turned ragged, and she backed herself up against a nearby pillar. "I'm twelve, not five, and I sure as hell never signed up to be your guys' problem. I can handle myself . . . I can fucking handle myself!"

"Gods, don't cry," Hal hissed, knocking away her scrabbling arms. Cipher only braced herself against the column in response, lashing out at his gut with her feet—a vicious mimicry of the playful kick he'd paid her earlier. He took the blow with a grunt, doubling over to grab her by the neck. At a loss for support, both tumbled to the ground, rattling and spitting at each other.

Maven only danced away, nimble as always; he'd let Halcyon take one for the team this time.

"Why are you so afraid of help?" Hal growled, pinning his sister with a knee as she gnawed on his arm. "Mother and Father would wipe the floor with you more than they already do if Maven and I weren't here."

She spat his wrist out of her mouth, growing still. "It's not even our parents I'm mad at, it's you two."

"Well that's makes absolutely no sense," Maven interjected, looking down at her from above. "All we do is put our necks on the line for you."

"That's the problem! How am I supposed to get stronger if you guys keep breaking up my fights?"

"Oh sugar, that's not how you get strong." Halcyon was exasperated enough to use her old nickname. Both he and Maven had called her that for quite some time—a habit born from the days when they couldn't get 'Cipher' to come out just right. Despite being a slip up, the Ra'zac's words seemed to get her attention more than anything else he'd said thus far.

"What then, Hal? What am I supposed to do?"

"Well, for starters, you could quit messing with the Lethrblaka; I'm getting sick of bailing you out, but it's not like I can just sit here while you get your ass beat. Do us all a favor, yes?"

"Also, trust us a bit more. Halcyon and I have three years on you, sister; like it or not, we probably know what's best for you."

"Lastly, you know that Maven spars with me every other day or so, right? I was going to wait until you were a bit older, but I suppose now's a good time to invite you in on that. Think about it; you'll have an excuse to hit us, you'll burn off some energy, and maybe we'll all sleep better come daybreak. Now then, my precious, vicious hatchmate, I cannot make this deal any sweeter. How about it?"

Cipher lay on the ground for some time, Hal's knee ironing out her rough breathing. When she finally moved, it was to suckerpunch her sibling in the face. The Ra'zac rolled off of her with a dull groan, clutching at his head and doing a few barrel rolls of pain.

She cracked her knuckles and laughed once—a high chirp befitting her age. "Consider that a taste of my spar-power. I hope you two are ready for me, because I'll be seeing you in the center nave as soon as Auntie's gone."

Maven hovered over his brother, flinching as Cipher strode past them. "What have you done, Hal?" he whispered, only half-jokingly.

"I don't know, but _sugar's_ punches have more of a bite to them than I remember."


	5. Brass Blood, Hallow Heart

"Well, not exactly. Anathema's been moving through the crags west of Therinsford; I had to reroute my entire passage just to avoid her."

"So she's still alive then? I suppose I shouldn't be surprised; wasn't it mother that said cannibalism's good for the heart?"

"What're you doing?" Cipher pulled Maven back just as he leaned out too far, his shoulder loosing traction on the wall. Had she not grabbed his arm, he probably would have stumbled right out into the chantry. "You're going to get us caught!"

"I was just trying to get a better look," he whispered, unfazed by their near-discovery. "Auntie hasn't changed one bit since I last saw her."

It was true; the Lethrblaka at Avarice's side was the same whip of muscle and claws she'd always been. Her neck, snaking as she spoke, pulsed at its hollows with the fierce movement of her blood. Only a life Alpside could sculpt one so beautifully, and her heady earth-sky-and-wind-scent nearly knocked the Ra'zac off of their feet. Elysian Temerity was surely eternal—by way of her charisma if not her strength. She'd never die, as far as the siblings were concerned.

"Oh, so you remember that?" their aunt tilted her massive head, beak cracked in a wry grin. "In any case, I'm sure she would have snapped me up if we'd crossed paths. Anathema's been in a terrible mood as of late, you know."

"Oh really? I didn't take her for the touchy type. She's nearing two centuries now, yes? What has she to bicker about?"

Abruptly, the atmosphere seemed to darken; even the trio drew away from their eavesdropping as an oppressive silence befell the chantry. Temerity was quiet for some time, and when she finally spoke, it was pensively. "Apparently, she's been spotting more Dragons than hawks on the far winds, and it's making her uneasy. She just called some of her brood back to the Spine last moon, and the rest of us are doing the same; if those lizards have riders, no Lethrblaka should be loitering about the Outskirts."

Avarice frowned, slowly peeling the wax seal off of a baroque jar. The preserved hearts within were a special treat she saved for family visits, but right then, she wasn't at all focused on their allure. "That's unfortunate," she mused carefully. "Ataraxia and Maven were to visit the Outskirts soon; I'm sure my little pupa shall be crushed."

From their hideaway, the twins both scoffed.

"Oh dear; now mother's just making fun of you. She knows how much you hate leaving the Parish."

Maven lifted his hands as if in prayer. "That's the last thing on my mind right now; did you hear her? I won't be going outside after all!"

"Lucky brat," Cipher hissed, her gaze wickedly mischievous. "Why don't you thank Auntie personally for changing mother's mind?"

Maven's spine shivered like a tuning fork, struck by the waves of his sister's ill-intent; her sharp little fingers were already digging into his shoulder plates before he could flee from her evil. "Cipher, don't you da-"

Too late.

The next thing Maven knew, he was on the chapel's floor; his sister's legs were all but soldiering his neck to the ground. "Count your blessings." She purred into his ear. "You would have fallen anyway if I hadn't caught you the first time."

"You are, without a doubt, the wickedest thing for miles."

"Thank you."

"Cipher, Maven!" Avarice's voice cut straight through their banter. "What's the meaning of this?" her gaze struck them like a snake in the grass—sudden, violent, deadly. There was a cobra's tenseness to the set of her sinuous posture—she was _furious_.

The brother and sister froze; Maven glanced upward, into Cipher's eyes. She had them trained on their mother in the far corner, and though she was drawing mettle from Temerity's presence, the legs around his throat still trembled.

"Get out of here," he whispered, pushing at her waist. "This is my fault, remember?"

Her body just bowed away from his touch, wilting overtop of his head like the hallway's parched flowers. "Shut up; she can't touch us while Auntie's here." Indeed, Temerity was already rising alongside her sister. A touch here, a whisper there, and she all but drained the dire from Avarice's body; this was the magic of a sibling bond, and right now, Cipher was ever so grateful for it.

"Stars struck south," the Lethrblaka crooned. "This can't possibly be your brood. Since when did my little kin get to be so handsome?"

The praise quickly melted what was left of Avarice's icy shell. After a moment or two, she relaxed into her sister's arms and bore an obliging grimace. "Handsome they may be, but chaste, obedient, considerate? You can see for yourself that they sorely lack these qualities."

Temerity's brow only furrowed as she watched the Ra'zac untangle themselves. "Yes, yes . . . but weren't there _three_ of them? Oh Ava, don't tell me you lost one?"

"Come now Auntie; I'm not _that_ easy to get rid of!" Halcyon sprung from the shadows like an actor onto the stage—both of his siblings nearly groaned at the showy entrance. "Here I am; alive, well, and dashing as ever!"

Temerity was visibly delighted; the tip of her long tail twitched and then slithered in amongst the trio. "So I see! Now then: let's see if I remember you all . . . this young lady is Jingo Cipher, yes?" she poked her in the back. "You've hit quite the growth spurt there, my child! Perhaps you'll take after your mother's bloodline?"

What a compliment! Cipher was positively reeling; could she really grow into a Lethrblaka as powerful as her aunt? "I sure hope so!" she piped as the tail moved on.

"And you two are the twins, Exigent Maven and Errant Halcyon."

"Goodness me!"

"I forgot what it's like to not have our first names swapped."

"You always remember them."

"Well, I certainly should!" Temerity laughed, wrapping her tail about Hal's ankle. "This one is named after me."

The brothers were aghast; both looked to their mother. "Really?"

Avarice only sighed, cracking an indulgent smile. "I promised her that my firstborn would bear her old name—she had an awful time parting with it, you see. Halcyon just happened to pip first; my apologies, Maven."

All three buzzed with this discovery.

"What was your Ra'zac name?" Cipher asked.

"I believe it was Arrant Siren."

"That's so cool!"

"Did your mother give it to you?"

"Did your father give it to you?"

"How'd you pick a new one?"

"What was mother's Ra'zac name?"

"Did you help her pick it out?"

"Are Lethrblaka names hard to get used to?"

Temerity and Avarice looked to each other as the trio went on and on.

"Are they always this . . . excitable? I remember them being much mellower the last time I visited."

"Oh, most definitely; now do you see why I have an entire chamber to myself? It's ever so difficult to reprieve oneself from their racket."

Temerity adopted a wistful expression, gazing upon the chattering pupae with a fond eye. "Ah, but they're so vibrant; you and Ataraxia have done well."

"My mate is sharp of wit but dull of presence," Avarice lamented, forking out her tongue in mild vexation. "What I wouldn't give to have and Alpdweller about the Parish."

"All the more reason to enjoy my visits!"

"You're awful—just awful; how dare you mock my solitude."

Temerity laughed as she stretched, slipping away from her younger sister. "Now I see where Maven got his dramatics."

At the mention of his name, the Ra'zac below paused in his questioning. "What was that, Auntie?"

"Oh, nothing really; I was just thinking out loud."

"Thinking of what?"

"That mayhap we could go Alpside! There's something I want to show you three . . ."


	6. Disparity

The Parish's front vestibule was a work of art, if nothing else. It flowed from the ceiling to the ground in dizzying twists of black marble; if one tilted their head just right, it flashed with phantasmal swaths of violet—Temerity was doing just that.

"Your home is ever so beautiful," she murmured, tracing a talon down one of the spirals. "I can see why you rarely leave it."

Maven just uttered a tiny, pained chitter as his siblings nodded their agreement.

"We don't usually come over here," Cipher explained, gesturing to the entryway. "The door is made of glass; when it gets to be high noon, this whole area is full of light."

"I see! But look here . . . what does this lovely epitaph say?"

All four craned their heads upward—the Ra'zac more than their Lethrblakan relative. Etched into the vestibule's upper frame was a banner of curling script; stone flowers bloomed in azoic radiance amongst the runes' loops and whorls. So too did the treacherous stares of jeweled serpents glint from between their petals.

A voice drier than the Hadarac Desert filled the corridor, making at least three of those present jump. _"Though a garden the world may be, fear yet its wiles and the bite they bear."_

The rustle of dry wings, the disembodied scent of parchment . . . the trio turned to confirm their suspicions. Astral Ataraxia, pale as ever, loomed like a pillar of salt behind them. "_That_ is its meaning, my most beloved sister-in-law."

Temerity's eyes barely left the banner. "Eloquent as always, Ata." she paused just long enough to enjoy his cringe. "And just as elusive! Fitting of you to show yourself when I'm about to leave."

"Yes, well, you _are_ taking all three of my pupae with you. One never knows what . . . misfortunes may befall those traveling Alpside. I simply thought it appropriate that I see them off; I'd feel just awful if something happened to them without a proper goodbye on my behalf."

The Alpdweller snorted disdainfully. "Oh, so you doubt my abilities? How very comforting to your poor brood. In any case, I'm sure a farewell from you means oh so much to them. Now if you'll excuse us . . ."

"Of course, of course; I'll see you all soon, yes?" Their aunt wasn't very well accustomed to Ataraxia, but the siblings were. While she nodded her head, satisfied with his repentance, they all shivered. He was very much hoping they'd never return—that much was painfully clear.

While Ataraxia slithered back into the shadows from whence he came, Temerity shooed her niece and nephews into the entryway. "Cipher, be a dear and open that door for me."

The youngest complied, and in a moment, all four were assaulted with the Spine's eventide smells. Shockingly cold mountain air, the sharp scent of cedar, a hawthorn's broken branches, the dust and carrion scent of owls in their perches. The Ra'zac bobbed and weaved, helpless in the face of their instinct to sniff, to gather information and run with it. Their guardian simply chuckled, moving past them and into the night; this was her home, and in returning to it, she had stepped back into her element.

"Any pupa that doesn't keep up will have to ride on my back," she threatened cheerily, moving down the Parish's outside steps.

The trio, horrified by the notion, scrambled to follow.

"So, Auntie, what did you want to show us?" Halcyon asked, leaping over a fallen branch with relative ease. Cipher moved almost in tandem with him, her eyes bright and searching—they loved the Alps just as much as their brother hated them.

"Ah, now there's a fine question with no answer."

"No answer?" Maven panted, narrowly avoiding the cumbersome barbs of a wild rose bush. "Impossible! Every question has an answer."

Temerity whistled her amusement, steadily heading uphill and toward the stars. "_Surprises_ have no answers, as they're never meant to be asked of!"

The trio all groaned at this, but it wasn't the same chorus of disbelief that met their father's tricks. This was a grumble of excitement—something that none of them had indulged in before.

"Can you at least give us a hint?"

"Just a small one!"

"Please, Auntie?"

"Oh, if you insist!" she slowed her pace, eventually trotting to a stop beneath the boughs of an enormous pine tree. The siblings—who had been running the whole while—leaned against its rough trunk with the frightful limber of overcooked pasta.

As Temerity gathered her thoughts, the Ra'zac eventually began to busy themselves with the world around them. Halcyon counted ants as they streamed from their sandy little hills and Cipher was already trying to wipe a wad of sap onto Maven's back.

They all paused in their activities as the Lethrblaka cleared her throat. "You get but one clue," she warned, turning back to them and lowering her open hands. "Now watch closely . . ."

Confused, the trio moved nearer to their elder, eagerly peering into her dark palms. Once they were close enough, Temerity bowed down until her beak was amidst their own; she then whispered a few words that were all but gibberish to the pupae. Abruptly, the area smelled strongly of herbs, and after just a few moments, both Cipher and her brothers began to feel light headed.

"Auntie?"

"Shhh; do you see?"

See what? The Ra'zac could just feel, and what they felt was the sensation of floating away. One by one, they grabbed onto Temerity's wrists—almost as if to keep themselves from leaving the ground; that's when the glow started.

It appeared in little wisps, tentative and fluffy like a chick's down. After a moment or two, it thinned and solidified into a tiny, shimmering curtain of light.

At first, the trio hid their eyes, expecting an all too familiar burn.

"Oh, don't do that," Temerity scolded softly, pulling their hands away. "It won't hurt you; I promise."

Maven was the first to look directly at it—the first to cast away his fear. "Auntie," he breathed, awestruck by the tiny apparition. "How're you doing this?"

"It's an old art, sweetling. My father taught it to me many, many years ago."

"Never mind that!" Cipher trilled at last, beginning to bounce with excitement. "_What_ is it?"

Temerity's eyes reflected the curtain's green and purple glow in hazy pinpricks; to the breathless Ra'zac, her gaze looked to be spangled with a nebula of stars. "Literally, it's a hallucination," she said softly, breathing onto the illusion until it phased into ripples of blue and gold. "But figuratively, it's an aurora; you'll see a real one soon enough."

"You gave the clue away," Halcyon pointed out jokingly—he too was fawning over the miracle in her hands.

Temerity dipped her head as if foiled. "Ah, so I have! But come now." she clapped her palms shut and beat the air a few times with her wings; the area's smell and atmosphere cleared along with the miniature aurora. "My parlor tricks can do the original no justice."

Maven, lightheaded no longer, nearly crawled up his aunt's leg. "Parlor trick or no, that was absolutely amazing!"

"You are too kind."

"You said your father taught you this old art?" he went on, missing the Lethrblaka's startled jerk. "I've never met our other grandparents-"

"Mother sure won't talk about them," Cipher interjected sassily.

"Do you think he'd teach us the same craft?"

Temerity's merriment became just slightly dismal—sad and inevitable, like the brown ribbons of death on a wilting flower. "Your grandfather won't be teaching you anything."

The Ra'zac glanced first at each other, and then at their aunt; never had they been so shocked by something she'd said.

"Don't look so upset," she added quickly, forcing herself to smile. "I'm sure he would've been delighted by your interest, my precious pupae. But you see, my father and my mother both met their ends some time ago; they were dust and bone long before you'd even pipped."

Cipher and Halcyon looked on in bewilderment as Maven turned paler than he already was. "I apologize, Auntie; I never meant to-"

She hushed him quickly but kindly. "Still your heart, child; it's too fine a night for such talk!"

"But-"

"How about this: tonight we'll look upon the aurora as I intended, and tomorrow, if it pleases you, I'll tell all three of you about your grandparents."

The Ra'zac nodded numbly, teetering on the border of joy and sorrow.

"Good! Now then, who can climb?"

Cipher was the only one to raise her hand—and smugly at that. The twins just looked down at their feet in dull embarrassment.

Temerity grinned along with her niece, poking the two of them in the back with her tail. "Afraid of heights still? It's alright; who do you think helped Ataraxia into the air after his metamorphosis?"

Their father, stuck on the ground? Cipher cracked up first, but her brothers were quick to follow. Eventually, all four of them were absolutely cackling with laughter.

"Come on," Temerity giggled at last, helping her kin back onto their feet. "We'll miss it if we don't hurry! I was going to have you climb this tree, but I have a better idea—that is, if the boys are willing . . ."

"Willing to what?" they gasped, smothering their snorts with suspicion.

In response, the Lethrblaka simply lay upon the ground and fanned out her wings. Cipher caught wind of her plans before the twins, and swiftly clambered up onto her back. "Fuck yes!" she screeched, forgetting her manners. "Auntie's going to take us flying!"

"Goodness, Cipher; you act as if your parents never do."

"They don't." Halcyon and Maven gulped, clutching at each other in fear.

"There's not much room to fly in the Parish," Cipher explained sulkily. "I can't remember the last time mother or father opened their wings!"

Temerity gathered the twins up, shaking her head in disbelief. "To think, my sister—once and Alpdweller—would give up her flying so easily."

By the time all three Ra'zac were on her back, Maven had begun to mutter the Sepulcher's scripture. Cipher cuffed him over the head as the Lethrblaka's wings began to flex. "Cut it out! I bet Auntie's a great flier—better than anyone in the Burg!"

"Besides," Halcyon added, elbowing his sister with mock confidence. "Cipher would never let us fall off! Right?"

At her brother's hopeful stare, the youngest felt an unexpected pang of sympathy. They both looked so miserable that it was almost funny, but Instead of cashing in on their terror, Cipher took a stab at assuaging it. "Of course not, you dopes," she said fondly, pulling both of them onto her lap. "I've gotcha!"

The twins—still recovering from being manhandled—suddenly realized how big Cipher had gotten over the past couple of years. At twelve, she was just a few inches shy of their own height! Temerity was right . . . their little sister wasn't going to be little for much longer.

All this was swept to the back of their minds as the ground dropped away from view. Their aunt hadn't even taken to the skies yet—she'd just stood up—but now they were at least twenty feet in the air. Cipher's warm breath ghosted across their necks one last time. "Try your hardest not to piss on my lap."

Temerity clawed up what was left of the peak, and in just a few of the twin's ragged heartbeats, all four of them were perched on one of the Spine's many vertebra. The landscape fell away from them on either side, knotted and wild with dark underbrush. "Keep your eyes down for now!" their aunt shouted, steadying herself against the ragged winds screaming across the ridge.

Halcyon and Maven didn't need to be told twice; both already had their beaks buried in Cipher's chest. "All clear back here, Auntie!" she laughed, hugging them tightly.

"Very well! Try to hold on, but don't worry yourselves; I'll catch anyone who falls." Her wings, once firmly pressed to her body, crooked themselves open in preparation for flight. The Lethrblaka turned upon her jagged perch, faced away from the eastern horizon, and simply dropped.

At first they fell and fell and fell—the trio screamed and screamed and screamed—but then, abruptly, their descent leveled. After a few moments of icy, rushing wind and the feeling of great speed, Temerity called out to them over her shoulder. "You can look now! I'll fly us as close as I can to it!"

Cipher was the first to tip her beak skyward, and what she saw nearly knocked every thought from her head. Above was their aunt's illusion magnified a hundred times over in scope and brilliance. It struck out along the sky's dark underbelly like a fresh wound, dripping with color.

"Hal, Maven . . . you've got to see this," she whispered, shaking their shoulders.

This high up, there was nothing to obscure the night itself; stars both new and old, blue, white, and red, glistened as brightly as a trove of gems scattered upon black satin. All this was bathed in the milky shine of a distant nimbus that rent the sky in half. It spread out, cloudy and fair, as if a break in reality—the shining white within it spoke of a nothingness that no measure of black could convey.

The lovely vertigo of gazing into that ivory inferno was too much to bear alone; again she shook her brothers. "Please, you guys? It's so beautiful; it's bright and white, but-"

"It doesn't hurt?" Temerity finished, climbing higher into the chilly air. "That's the beauty of it, my dear—that's what I wanted to show you. Humans may have their sun that blisters gold, their sky that burns blue, and their clouds that boil white, but we have the night and its dim richness."

By then, the brothers had finally chanced a glance—already, they were spellbound.

"How will we ever go back to the Burg?" Maven muttered, his glossy carapace studded with stars.

"Oh, you'll go back . . _. _for now," Temerity said softly. "You'll hate it, but you'll grow none the less, and over the years I'll visit you; we'll go flying each time, if that's what you want. Before you know it, you'll have metamorphosed yourselves, and then you can fly anywhere, anytime you like."

The trio nodded numbly; never had their futures looked so bright.


	7. Flesh Rake

"Ah, it's fading," Temerity sighed. Each word trailed ribbons of fog as she sliced through the cold air; her wings, thin and light, were already crisping about the edges with a rime of hoarfrost. Aurora or no, it was only a matter of time before the altitude forced them all down.

"It's okay, Auntie," Maven said, shivering himself. "You should land before we all freeze to death!"

The Lethrblaka glanced skyward once more, her gaze equal parts wistful and frustrated. "I suppose that would be for the best; there isn't much left to see anyway. Did you three enjoy yourselves, at least?" A chorus of cheers—and chatters—sounded behind her.

"It was a-awesome!"

"Y-y-yeah! I d-didn't know the m-m-m-m-"

"M-moon?"

"Yeah; t-that. I didn't know it was s-so b-b-big!"

The Ra'zac's' enthusiasm was more than just gratifying—it was warming as well. After a moment or two, Temerity was grinning like a fool, her body flushed dark with pride. "Well, I'm glad I could show you all a good time!" she said, veering eastward once more. "Now, let's get you three back to the Parish and into your nest; the sun will be rising soon."

Halcyon frowned, crawling past his aunt's flexing shoulders to peer over the glimmering edge of her starboard wing. "Wow!" he exclaimed, squinting into the distance. "Look, guys."

His siblings joined him, offhandedly helping the Lethrblaka to wheel about. "Be careful, my young ones," she warned, chancing a glance back at their perilous perching. "I may be gentle but the winds are not; should I be buffeted, you'll all be in for a bumpy ride!"

"We'll be careful," they droned, ignoring the tongue she poked out at them.

The trio clung to Temerity's steadier muscles and looked on in vague unease. The barest glimmer of dawn could be seen just beyond the Spine's ragged peaks; it threaded the yonder skyline with little bolts of orange and cream—colors to herald more searing shades of pink and white.

"W-will we make it b-b-back home in time?" Cipher wondered aloud.

"Oh, I'm sure we will. The trees shall give us cover soon enough."

Troubled by the possibility of an early sunrise, the Ra'zac all shimmied back to their place and whispered together in a suspicious huddle. Their aunt paid them little heed though, assured herself of their punctuality; her kin could whisper all they wanted, but nothing short of a disaster could keep them from reaching the Burg in time.

"Dramatic pupae," she murmured fondly, ducking her head in delight as Cipher—having heard her words—scolded her from afar.

True to her word, Temerity alighted back upon the ridge in record time. The horizon had barely brightened since they first noticed it, and for the first time, the trio began to believe that they'd escape the sun's blinding rays.

"Why don't you three stay where you are?" she suggested, winding her tail about Halcyon as he made to slide down her spine. "It's really no trouble to carry a couple of Ra'zac; besides, we'll move faster this way." The siblings, aching for darkness and their nest, took little time in agreeing.

"I guess I'm fine with it."

"One ride couldn't hurt."

"If you insist!"

Temerity whistled like tea kettle—really though, she was doing her best to suppress a full-fledged bout of laugher. "Libel and slander," she mused. "Ata's little ones are worse than he is." Fortunately, none of the Ra'zac heard her private whispers, and so all four fell into a companionable silence as she slid back down the ridge's rough side. Moving as quickly as she was, her talons inevitably drew a blitz of sparks from the exposed bedrock; the sprays of light, although quick to die, illuminated the area for just an instant.

The Ra'zac were dazzled by their aunt's unintentional display, but the Lethrblaka herself was immediately put on edge by it. She finished her descent quickly, quietly, and without the aid of her claws. At the incline's level bottom, she paused to wait and watch.

"What's wrong, Auntie?" Cipher asked, peering into the waning night. "Is something out there?"

"There's _always_ something out there, sweetling," she whispered softly, her head cocked for telltale sounds. "The trick is not to get caught by those somethings."

Halcyon took Cipher's hand up in his own, drawing her back to his side. "Let's not bug our ride," he joked. Only Maven seemed to notice the way he clung to her hand—how he held onto it like a lifeline.

"Hal . . ."

His twin turned back to him, eyes bright but worried. "Yeah?"

Maven looked to their hands once more, twined together like a pair of vines; Cipher was still paying attention to their aunt, and Halcyon had his eyes on him. "Nothing," he sighed at last, smiling weakly. "It's just . . . more dangerous Alpside than I thought."

Temerity, satisfied with her surroundings, turned to nuzzle the Ra'zac between her shoulders. "Flying amongst the stars will do that to you," she warned, nipping at each of them tenderly. "But we must never forget _who_ we are and _where_ we are; the present is your lifeline, and everyone must do their best to hold onto it."

The trio soaked up her wisdom and love like sponges, clinging to her beak even as she drew it away. "Settle yourselves," she said softly, nudging each of them back into place. "And don't be scared; the beasties are also creeping back into their dens."

"Why's that?"

"They fear the sun just as you and I," she said, setting off at a canter through the underbrush. Huge as though she was, Temerity moved with a big cat's silent grace; what little crunches and snaps she drew from the ground below was covered by a rising tide of birdsong.

"Don't songbirds come out right before morning?" Cipher asked anxiously.

"Some do," Temerity admitted, slowing as they entered a snarled copse of hawthorn. "But look: were almost back to the Parish!"

"Where?" they warbled, hanging from her shoulders like sailors from a ship's rigging. They'd taken a different route back home from the one they set out on, and nothing about the landscape looked familiar to them.

The Lethrblaka rested on her haunches, effectively jacking the trio another ten feet higher. "We just have to move past this wood here," she said, gesturing beyond their gnarled boles with a dusty claw. "The Burg's northeast entryway is built right along its edge; you've never been to it?"

"The Parish has more doorways than any other building in the Burg," Maven said proudly.

"Too damn many!"

"What Cipher's trying to say," Halcyon amended, shushing her. "Is that we haven't even discovered all of them yet."

Temerity fell back onto her hands, trying to imagine the scope of her sister's home. "I didn't know it was so large!"

Maven shook his head, leaning up against her neck as she pushed through the first line of hawthorns. "It's not that big, just strangely constructed. There are a lot of rooms, passages, and alcoves that either loop back on themselves or don't lead anywhere at all. Honestly, I have no idea what the Scentless were thinking when they built it."

"Have you ever thought of making a map?" Temerity asked, snipping straight through a branch with her beak. "You seem like one who'd enjoy it, Maven."

The Ra'zac tucked his beak against his chest, muttering to himself as his siblings caught the sparrows their aunt kicked up. "Why didn't I think of that? Now I just need some of father's quills and parchment . . ."

The Lethrblaka, relieved that her kin were busying themselves, turned much of her attention toward hacking through the forest; those trees growing along the outskirts were still young, short, and irritating with their wild, new growth—she had already uprooted more than one in her endeavors to move past them.

Eventually, Temerity succeeded in tearing her way through the saplings. Unburdened by their questing roots, the ground had regained its ability to support other life; in this instance, a verdant carpet of bleeding hearts and ferns had sprung up, lush and vibrant in the wake of spring. A single step on the Lethrblaka's behalf stirred up their raw, green scent—after just a moment or two, the entire area smelled of growing things.

"Much better," she sighed, stretching her neck until it scraped against the lofty canopy. "I thought I'd never stand straight again!"

"Auntie?"

Temerity glanced back to the trio, locking eyes with a shivering Cipher. "What's wrong, little one?"

"I've got a bad feeling."

"A bad feeling?" the Lethrblaka frowned, her senses immediately sharpening. "Do you know what it is?"

The Ra'zac had gone stiff, her arms locked around one of Halcyon's. "I think there's another Lethrblaka nearby."

The twins, entrenched in a conversation about ink, went silent almost instantaneously; Maven began to tremble, but Halcyon just took a breath and turned Cipher towards him. While his brother and aunt looked on, he stared deeply into her darkening gaze. "Fuck," he finally whispered, his head whipping westward. "She's right."

In the forest behind them, the dull percussions of a heavy, careless tread became audible—it was moving slowly but surely along the path Temerity had beaten.

"Auntie . . ." Cipher whispered again.

Stress and aggression works wonders upon a Lethrblaka's body. Temerity—once a sleek, trailing swath of onyx flesh—had suddenly become a colossus of corded muscle; even the tilt of her head was the bellicose lean of a battering ram. "You three need to get off of me, and quickly," she breathed, her barbed tongue drawing the order out to a hiss.

The trio put their adrenaline toward obedience and one by one, crawled down their aunt's back—each used her tail as a rope when it came to jumping that last twenty feet. Small and shivering, they looked back to Temerity for guidance.

"Be quiet and still," she advised. "We're blood kin and this forest is very fragrant; I doubt they'll smell you if you breathe lightly."

"What's going to happen, Auntie?" Maven hated himself for asking—hated himself for giving in to stupid questions—but he couldn't help it.

Temerity looked directly at them one last time, pleased to see how well their outlines faded in the gloomy foliage. "I don't know, sweetling . . . just hold onto your lifeline, okay?"

Maven nodded, embracing his twin tightly as panic threatened to overwhelm him. Both Halcyon and Cipher stroked him and murmured soothings; it would be disastrous for Maven to slip into a fit.

The Lethrblaka couldn't bear to look at their hiding spot any longer; with great effort, she drug her vision back up, focusing instead on the battered tree line—she didn't have to look for long. In just two or three of her tense breaths, there flickered a snippet of dark skin ahead. It flitted between the trees for some time, moving alongside her path rather than on it; only when the stranger was within twenty yards did they pass into view.

Cipher was right: it was a Lethrblaka, and a large one at that. Their glimmering eyes, outlined in sultry bands of blue, were almost level with Temerity's own.

"Anathema's lot," she growled under her breath. What were they doing so far from their kin? Didn't they know the matriarch had called a family gathering? The Lethrblaka turned just slightly, and for a brief moment, a pair of elbow spurs were visible.

"You're one of Ana's boys," she said slowly, gauging his reaction. The Lethrblaka's eyes glinted, his stance winding up until his scarred hide clung to the muscle beneath—Temerity had to bite her tongue to keep from smirking. Everyone Alpside knew the lot's 'show pony posture.' She was right; this stranger was Anathema's kin.

"I surely am," he purred, taking a step toward her. "But you're not; what's a kohless doing this far north? Don't you know it's all ruins in these parts? Oh, don't tell me," he exclaimed, smiling wide enough to reveal his back fangs. "You were meeting up with some Burgdwellers? That's almost _scandalous_ of you, Alpsister."

Temerity snapped her beak—kohless; what a stupid word. As if the Spine needed more discriminatory epitaphs. "And what of you, _Alpbrother_? You're from the outskirts, aren't you?"

"So what if I am?"

"Oh it's no matter; I can just tell—very easily. You can't help but stick your beak where it doesn't belong . . . almost like a _Human_. Methinks you've been spending too much time in their villages."

The stranger's wings jerked, opening just slightly to reveal their flushed undersides—he was flustered, that much was certain. "What do you know of the Outskirts?" he growled, following Temerity with his gaze as she slunk away from the Ra'zac.

"Nothing, I should imagine," she mused, her tail flicking scornfully. "Humans are for the Ra'zac to devour; I prefer to hunt more challenging prey."

The other Lethrblaka was quaking with anger; despite this, his rage was that of a building temper tantrum. Belatedly, she realized how young he was—barely an adult at all. "My grandmother wouldn't make two bites of you!"

"Grandmother?" Temerity froze, a triumphant and none too comforting grin spreading across her face. "You're not one of her sons?"

The stranger's threatening posture drooped—he was confused. "No . . . but we're still blood kin! And let me tell you, she doesn't take kindly to tripe spewing _kohles_s!" the obscenity lent him the strength step forward and sneer in her face. "What's stopping me from telling her _right now_?"

Unfortunately for the other Lethrblaka, Temerity wasn't one for final quips. Her jaws were up under his throat in a heartbeat, a gush of coppery arterial blood spraying down onto the trio below. Cipher and Maven were the only ones to be splashed by it, both wide-eyed and stunned senseless by the impromptu blood bath.

"Guys," Halcyon hissed, standing up and dragging his teal drenched siblings after him. "We're going to get crushed if we don't get moving!"

It was true, their aunt and the stranger were locked in a frenzy of gnashing beaks and flailing claws. Temerity had already stood up to her full height, towering a megalithic forty feet in the air; the other Lethrblaka's neck was still clamped in her jaws, and she was doing her best to break it as he railed against her.

His twin and sister, shocked as they were, quickly recovered in the face of danger.

"Fucking hell," Cipher screeched, teetering between laughing and crying. "Auntie is _wrecking that guy!" _

"He's not the only one who'll be wrecked if we stay here," Maven muttered, taking off after his brother. "C'mon, Cipher! I'm not carrying you this time!"

The youngest loitered for a few moments longer; in that time, her aunt pinned the other Lethrblaka up against a huge hawthorn. "So badass," she whispered, turning to follow her siblings' shadows.

Meanwhile, Temerity had her talons buried knuckle deep in the stranger's hips. _"Stop talking,"_ she hissed into his mind. _"And die."_

The other Lethrblaka couldn't be persuaded._ "You-your whole . . . brood will s-s-suffer . . . for this." _

She screwed her jaws tighter, delighting in the splintering of bones, the snapping of gristle. _"You are nothing,"_ she said, placing her heel-spur against the Lethrblaka's soft stomach. _"And you will die for nothing."_ A snap of her jaws, a jerk of her leg, and his head fell in amongst a gush of guts—decapitated and eviscerated, in that order.

Temerity stood over her kill for several minutes thereafter, panting and blowing blood from her nostrils. "Outskirt lout," she gasped at last, kicking the ruin of his corpse. "I'd better not catch wind of your siblings . . ."

"Auntie!"

The Lethrblaka raised her head, a surge of relief washing over her; the trio was alive, well, and running toward her from the tree line. Cipher and Maven were blue caricatures of themselves, but beyond that, they appeared to be unharmed. "There you three are! Come here and let me have a look at you!"

Cipher easily dodged her aunt's grip, laughing wildly. "No way! I've got to see this guy's head; it's huge! Almost as big as yours, Auntie." She peered into its broken jaws, her eyes positively glittering. "_And you ripped it right off." _


End file.
